


It's Only A Bad Omen If You Let It Be

by DarthAbby



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Death Omens, Falling In Love, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, Ravens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:15:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarthAbby/pseuds/DarthAbby
Summary: Taako has always been able to see the ravens, and the reapers that follow them. He's not fearful of the birds, not exactly, but he doesn't like what they mean.Unless they're bringing his boyfriend. That's okay, then.





	It's Only A Bad Omen If You Let It Be

**Author's Note:**

> hi I just finished listening to TAZ Balance last night at about 2am, cried my damn eyes out, and woke up with an angsty plot bunny. Because every time I get into a new fandom, I must immediately seek to hurt myself and my friends.

Taako is familiar with death. He’s been around it often enough, from his parents’ far too early departure to the people he’s been forced to dispose of in this new mercenary lifestyle. The ravens always come first, heralding the arrival of the reaper. The first time, with his parents, he hadn’t made the connection - he was so young, so confused, so alone - 

No, no, he hadn’t been alone. He was  _ never _ alone, someone else had been there, someone else was  _ always _ there!

The thought made a headache bloom behind his eyes, and Taako’s mind changed tracks, searching for a different memory.

It landed on Glamour Springs, of course, which also hurt, but in a different way. By that point, he knew what it meant when his audience started coughing and choking and the first one fell and didn’t get back up, when he looked into the sky and saw a cloud of ravens circling above.

He never tells anyone about the ravens. He’s pretty sure most other people can’t see them. He had tried to tell… someone… but they hadn’t…

The headache returns, even worse than before, and Taako grimaces, rubbing at his temples for several long moments. When the ache finally starts to recede, he looks up and around his room, confused.

What had he been doing before the headache?

After a few moments, Taako shrugged and picked up a hairbrush. If it was important, it would come back to him.

* * *

The skeleton in Wave Echo Cave doesn’t frighten him. The person is long dead, by several years at least, and the only magical reside he can detect is around the umbrella under its arm.

Burnsides hangs back a little, but only because a magical umbrella is of no use to him. Highchurch gets a nasty shock off of the handle, but Taako is able to pick it up with no difficulty.

He thinks that maybe it  _ should _ bother him. Something deep in his chest gives him a little kick when he holds the umbrella for the first time, and he has a stray thought that makes no sense:  _ this should be familiar _ .

He shakes it off. Of course this is familiar. He’s seen skeletons before. The ravens aren’t here right now, but they were, once. He’s seen  _ those _ plenty of times. Once upon a time, a person in a red robe and carrying an enchanted umbrella sat down in this cave, and they didn’t get back up. Not his problem.

If he gets strangely protective of the umbrella almost immediately, well, the damn thing  _ did _ sort of save his life, which is more than he can say for their supposed cleric so far.

* * *

There are ravens at the Rockport train station. He is tense the whole time, though they do nothing more than sit up on the cross beams and occasionally fight over a scrap of food.

When Highchurch tries to convince one of the Bodetts to step in front of the train, Taako protests. Something bad is obviously about to happen with so many ravens about - no need to further the tragedy.

As they prepare to board, Burnsides catches him glancing up at the ravens once again.

“Not a fan of birds?”

“What?”

Burnsides shrugs. “Hey, no judging. I hate spiders, myself.”

“I think we all do after that last shitshow,” he deadpans before the first sentence catches up to him. “Wait, you can see the ravens, too?”

Burnsides gives him a strange look. “I’m human, not completely blind. Yes, I can see the birds.”

Taako’s shoulders relax minutely. “Good, uh, just testing you. Can’t have our fighter start losing his vision.” He sweeps past him, ignoring the look of confusion mixed with appreciation on Burnsides’ face. If someone else could see the ravens, that meant that they really were just birds this time, not harbingers of death.

(In hindsight, he should have known immediately that something was wrong when they found the body of  ‘Jenkins’ apparently only moments after death and there were no ravens or reapers to be seen)

* * *

He knows for sure something is wrong when Baine dies by the hand of the red-robed figure and there isn’t even a distant cawing. Hurley and Sloane he could sort of write off - they didn’t die so much as become part of the massive tree. But Baine? Very clearly murdered. And, now that he thought about it, a raven had arrived for Barbara, but no reaper.

Maybe the Raven Queen was cleaning house and had let some people go? Decided that reapers were unnecessary and that the ravens could do the work themselves?

Taako hoped not. He would hate to be escorted to the afterlife by just a loud, annoying  _ bird _ .

“Who the fuck was  _ that _ guy?” Magnus mutters as they make their way out of town to call their ride.

“I dunno, Death?” Merle offers, only half sarcastic.

“Nah,” Taako says immediately. “Death has a black robe.”  _ And ravens _ , he thinks.  _ Lots and lots of ravens. _ The irony of Sloane’s alter-ego has not escaped him -  the reaper ravens don’t kill, only collect.  _ The _ Raven killed quite a number of people.

“Maybe he’s got a spring collection.”

The unexpected response makes Magnus and Taako almost double over laughing.

Something is obviously very, very wrong with the astral plane, but at least he actually has  _ friends _ now.

* * *

It’s in the Miller Lab where things truly go to shit.

“Hey, thug! What’s your name? I’m about to tentacle your dick! Hey, hey, hey! I’m about to get you into some tent-porn! Let me get that name real quick so I know how to credit you! In my tentacle porn I’m about to make with your body!”

…

“Taako, you’ve died  _ eight _ times.”

…

It shouldn’t really be possible for a reaper to be taken down by the souls he guards. Well, in Taako’s opinion it shouldn’t be. Or it at least shouldn’t be as easy as it apparently was.

The reaper is named Kravitz, and Taako isn’t sure what’s more unnerving: the fact that there were no ravens as a warning, or that someone else could finally see the reapers. Sure, it seemed to be because Kravitz was  _ allowing _ Merle and Magnus to see him, but it was nice to know that he wasn’t completely insane (something Taako had wondered about more and more since joining the Bureau).

And then there was the whole… dying thing.

He’d made light of it at the time (there had certainly been several close calls since meeting the two knuckleheads he now called his friends), but the truth? Taako was  _ scared _ . He didn’t know much about reapers other than what he had been able to observe throughout his life, but he knew this: reapers didn’t make mistakes when it came to death. And if the reaper Kravitz said he had actually died eight times, well… Taako was more likely to trust a reaper’s judgement on this over his own.

(Sometimes he was confronted with holes in his memory that he couldn’t explain, holes that  _ hurt _ when he poked at them, like fresh wounds. It wasn’t inconceivable that somewhere in there he had died, even more than once. But then, how was he here now?)

He didn’t understand the whole situation. And Taako  _ hated _ not understanding things, especially about himself.

He would get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

* * *

Dying sucked.

Pretty much everything about Refuge and the time bubble sucked, but the dying was the worst part in Taako’s opinion. It  _ always _ hurt and it  _ always _ meant that they had failed. Again.

It was unnerving, too, as each hour he would look for ravens, and each hour he found none. He knew, logically, it was probably because of the loop - nothing to reap if all the deaths are erased and lives reset - but it still unsettled him.

A whole town up in flames and not a single, solitary raven. He continued to repeat his reasoning over and over in his head, but it didn’t matter. He was still panicking over what it might mean for the astral plane. He knew (though he didn’t quite remember how he knew) that if something was affecting the astral plane, it was going to affect the material plane eventually. It might already be affecting the ethereal plane - those little white figures he saw whenever he cast Blink were growing more populous, more bold. They made his skin crawl, and they hadn’t even technically  _ done _ anything besides watched. Almost like they were scouting ahead for something bigger. Something worse.

And Lucretia would probably expect the three of  _ them _ to deal with it. Ugh.

Taako decided, after they finally figured out the mess of traps that got them through the mine, that if - when,  _ when _ they made it out of this, he would have to see if there was some way to call up Kravitz and get the inside scoop on what was going on in the astral plane.

* * *

Well, Kravitz actually found  _ him _ , but that just made everything easier. And he has a  _ work accent _ , which is just adorable.

At least, it was easier until Taako found himself suddenly negotiating for the lives of every person in Refuge, Magnus, Merle, and himself.

He didn’t get a chance to ask about the astral plane before Kravitz took off, clearly unnerved by the presence of some sort of dark spirit that he couldn’t pin down.

Just another point for something being very,  _ very _ wrong in Taako’s estimation.

Why would a reaper be unable to identify a dark spirit?

What could possibly screw with his powers - with his  _ senses _ \- that badly?

When Lucretia announced a new mission for them, even more dangerous than the rest, he was almost relieved. Wonderland ought to be a nice distraction from his anxieties over the astral plane.

* * *

Taako has never wanted to be wrong so  _ badly _ before in his life. He almost dies - again. The two liches hit him where it hurts - his vanity and vitality. They take years off Magnus, they take darkvision and then an entire eye from Merle. They do their best to break the trio.

And then Magnus is…  _ gone _ . The body before them is  _ not _ inhabited by their friend any longer. It’s not even a choice when Taako steps into the ethereal plane and sees Magnus being pulled into a rift.

He’s not sure if ethereal spirits can be affected by adrenaline, but it certainly feels that way as he grabs Magnus and pulls him away from the rift to the astral plane.

The scene through the rift is  _ horrifying _ .

The sea of souls is covered in a thick layer of black ooze, cut through with tendrils of various colors, and it looks like the ooze is trying to choke out all the souls beneath. As they watch, a hand breaks through the surface, followed by a head.

Taako barely has time to register that it’s  _ Kravitz _ , that he’s in  _ danger _ , before the ooze lifts up and surrounds the reaper, pulling him back under.

He wants to help, he  _ does _ , but there is another battle to be fought. Merle pulls them back down, and even as the mannequin which Magnus’ spirit has taken possession of leaps onto the stage, Taako sends a silent promise to the astral plane.

_ I’ll get you out. _

* * *

The memories of the century-long trip in the  _ Starblaster _ bring joy even as they bring heartbreak.

Lup. How could he have forgotten Lup? How could he forget his sister, his twin? The only person who was ever there for him not matter what?

Lup, with her inexplicable crush on meganerd Barry Bluejeans, who shared his delight in mischief and magic and would laugh herself sick whenever Barry would accidentally try to shower his affections on Taako instead of her. Lup, who had consoled him uneasily after he had explained about the ravens and reapers, who couldn’t see them herself but didn’t doubt her brother. Lup, who had been the only person who understood when he said that everyone was just dust, that it made him sick to think of them that way, but it was worse if he let himself get attached.

Lup, with her prized, handcrafted umbra staff and penchant for fireballs.

Lup, who had turned herself into a lich out of sheer desperation.

_ Lup _ .

She had been taken from him so completely. How?  _ Why? _

The answer is kneeling in front of him, tears streaking down her face.

“Ten.”

A tiny part of his mind thinks  _ sorry, Kravitz. You’ll have to hold on just a bit longer. _

“Nine.”

* * *

He doesn’t think when he sees Kravitz. He just  _ runs _ .

It’s breathless and happy and a little terrifying, and Kravitz says he  _ loves _ him, that he’s  _ crazy _ about him, that he thought about Taako constantly while trapped in the astral plane.

Taako is in freefall, has been ever since snapping the umbra staff and freeing Lup, and he scrambles his words and sounds probably a little  _ too _ nonchalant, but who can really blame him? It’s the end of the world, he has his sister and his man back, along with all of his memories, and they’re all probably going to die, but at least it will be together in a blaze of glory.

And, that reminds him…

“One thing, before you go - this is my sister.”

“What’s up, Ghost Rider?” Lup is still hard to fully make out, the shadows of her lich form constantly moving and rearranging inside her red cloak, but the shit-eating grin that accompanies that tone is clear in his mind, his memories, and he smiles too.

“You… know that we’re gonna have to talk about the fact that your sister’s a lich, right?”

“Yeah, I assumed.”

* * *

Afterwards… afterwards is difficult. It’s a celebration, but it’s also a wake. So many were saved, but so,  _ so _ many died.

The ravens fly nonstop. Taako watches them from his window, exhausted but unable to sleep, scared of losing everything again. Kravitz is out there, he has no doubt, fixing the imbalance that the Hunger created, taking souls back to the astral plane and rounding up the miscreants used to create Legion.

There’s a crash and a loud burst of laughter from outside. Most of the Bureau has squeezed into the common area nearby, celebrating their success and toasting to their losses. Magnus made four separate toasts to Johann alone before Taako left the room, unable to handle the noise and the light and the sheer amount of emotion.

He wonders if the ravens have found Johann yet, if Kravitz will be the one to escort him to the astral plane, or another reaper. Are there other reapers? He’s not sure. He doesn’t particularly care at the moment.

A raven suddenly flies into his room, despite the fact that it is definitely not open to the outside. Physical barriers obviously aren’t an issue for the ravens that tell the reapers where to go.

“I think you’ve got the wrong room, compadre,” Taako says tiredly, giving the bird a suspicious look. Hadn’t he done enough? Was he now expected to stand trial for the apocalypse? Was the Raven Queen done waiting to collect on his soul? He hadn’t been mortally wounded (well, he had, but it had been taken care of), so why was the bird here?

The raven cocked it’s head and croaked at him. “ _ Five minutes _ .”

“Uh, what? Five minutes for  _ what _ , birdie?”

The raven just cawed, ruffled its feathers a little, and took off again, soaring straight through the wall and back outside to join the rest of the murder.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Taako asked, crossing his arms over his chest with a huff. “Haven’t I done enough today?”

There is no answer, of course, and he falls back to just staring out the window, tracking flight paths of birds only he can see.

After what he supposes is five minutes, a rift opens in his room, and Kravitz stumbles out, looking, well, dead tired.

“Oh, so now you’re using your ghost ravens as messenger pigeons?” Taako asks, standing up and wrapping his arms tightly around Kravitz, uncaring of the chill or the scent of death.

“I never got your farspeech frequency,” he says, laughing a little. “And that’s what the Raven Queen uses them for - why not me?”

Taako snorts and guides Kravitz to the bed. “C’mon, I need to sleep for about a year, and I think you do, too.”

“I don’t actually need to -”

“Yeah, yeah, join the club,” he says, waving one hand in the air. “But it’s  _ nice _ and I am the most tired anyone has ever been, ever. And I want a cuddle buddy. So get your chilly butt in bed.”

Kravitz obliges, reforming his suit into a more comfortable pair of sweats and a t-shirt before crawling under the covers with him. Taako collapses on top of him almost immediately, draping most of his torso over Kravitz’s and tangling their legs together.

Well, if this is the sort of thing the ravens brought now, instead of just death omens… yeah, he would be just fine with this.


End file.
